US consumer commission said to be considering large fines on Facebook

The highest financial penalty imposed on a tech company was Google's $22 million settlement in 2012 for privacy violations

The Federal Trade Commission is in the advanced stages of its investigation into whether Facebook violated privacy rules and is expected to seek large fines from the company, according to two people familiar with the inquiry.

The five members of the commission met in mid-December to discuss the investigation, according to the people, who would speak only on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is not public. The meeting is a sign that the investigation is far along, the people said, because the commissioners rarely meet in the early stages of an inquiry.

The investigation, which began in late March, is